#Women Writers
Under the Radar: Rima Das’ “Bulbul Can Sing” Examines the Joy and Pain of Growing Up
Last year, director Rima Das premiered her film “Village Rockstars,” which went on to become India’s official submission to the 91st Academy Awards. In her latest feature, “Bulbul Can...
Writer Ngozi Anyanwu and Director Awoye Timpo Talk Reuniting for “Good Grief”
Writer-actor Ngozi Anyanwu and director Awoye Timpo paired up for the current run of Anyanwu’s play “Good Grief” at the Vineyard Theatre. This isn’t the first time the pair has worked...
Guest Post: How I Branched Out from “Ethnic Friend” to Leading Lady in “Unlovable”
Guest Post by Charlene deGuzman Growing up Filipino-American in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I never saw any movie stars that looked like me. I rarely saw anyone Filipino on-screen, and if I did, they...
Kat Dennings-Starrer “Dollface” Ordered to Series at Hulu
Kat Dennings is trying to make up for all the girls’ nights she missed out on. The “2 Broke Girls” alumna toplines “Dollface,” the story of a woman determined to make...
Playwright Jaclyn Backhaus Chats About Her New Show “India Pale Ale”
Jaclyn Backhaus, a playwright of Punjabi and German descent, is skilled at giving women a voice in her work. Her last play, “Men on Boats,” told the story of the 1869 Powell Expedition...
Weekly Update for November 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING A Private War (Opens in NY and LA; Opens Nationwide November 16) In this world where journalism is under constant assault, watching “A Private...
Alicia Silverstone to Topline Amy Miller Gross’ “The Pleasure of Your Presence”
Alicia Silverstone will star in and exec produce “The Pleasure of Your Presence,” Deadline confirms. The pic marks Amy Miller Gross’ follow-up to her first feature,...
You’re Invited: W&H’s Melissa Silverstein Will Be Special Guest in Gloria Steinem Play
Women and Hollywood’s Founder and Publisher is set to serve as Special Guest in “Gloria: A Life,” an interactive play about iconic feminist Gloria Steinem. On November 15 Melissa...
Trailer Watch: Rebel Wilson’s Life Becomes a Rom-Com in “Isn’t It Romantic?”
Rebel Wilson finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy in the first trailer for “Isn’t It Romantic?” As a girl, Natalie (Wilson) was drawn to the genre. But her mother was...
November 2018 Film Preview
As the weather gets cooler, it’s the perfect time to spend an evening indoors with a great flick. And November promises a wide selection of women-centric and women-made films for just that...
Gia Coppola to Direct “Mainstream,” a Love Triangle Featuring Rising Star Maya Hawke
Gia Coppola has booked her next gig. She’ll follow up her 2013 directorial debut “Palo Alto” with “Mainstream,” Variety reports. Described as an “eccentric love...
Naomi Watts Takes the Lead in “Game of Thrones” Prequel
Naomi Watts is Westeros bound. The two-time Oscar nominee has signed on to star in an untitled “Game of Thrones” prequel, Deadline confirms. The project hails from “X-Men: First...
Cate Blanchett to Play Conservative Activist Opposed to Equal Rights in FX’s “Mrs. America”
In real life, Cate Blanchett is an outspoken feminist who famously called out Hollywood’s lack of female-led stories while accepting an Oscar. Her next role will be a major departure. The...
Comedian Sarah Kendall to Topline & Write Comedy Series “Frayed,” Sharon Horgan Producing
Sharon Horgan is continuing her reign as Queen of TV. Per The Sydney Morning Herald, the “Catastrophe” actress/co-creator’s production company, Merman, is producing...
Annabel Oakes’ “Edge of Seventeen” Series Lands Pilot Order at YouTube
Get ready for more bittersweet, angsty, and hilarious stories about surviving high school. According to Deadline, YouTube has given a pilot order to “The Edge of Seventeen,” a half-hour...
Lena Dunham to Adapt Syrian Refugee Story
Lena Dunham has been tapped to adapt a Syrian refugee survival story. The “Girls” creator and star will take “A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story...
Kate Hudson to Star in Ana Lily Amirpour’s Next Feature, “Blood Moon”
Ana Lily Amirpour has another genre flick on the way. After telling the story of a lonely vampire in “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” and cannibals in a desert dystopia in “The...
Weekly Update for October 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Shirkers (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Sandi Tan (Opens in NY and LA) (Also Available on Netflix) “When I was 18 the thing I wanted more than anything was...
Allison Janney and Laura Dern to Play Sisters in “Breaking News in Yuba County”
Recent award show favorites Allison Janney and Laura Dern have signed on to star in “Breaking News in Yuba County,” a black comedy to be helmed by Tate Taylor, who directed Janney in...
Anya Taylor-Joy to Topline “Emma,” Autumn De Wilde Directing
First published in 1815, “Emma” continues to resonate. Jane Austen’s novel about a meddlesome matchmaker is once again being adapted for the screen. Deadline reports that...
Iliza Shlesinger Secures CBS Put Pilot Commitment for Comedy About Sisters
Iliza Shlesinger has a new small screen project in the works. The standup’s multi-camera comedy about siblings, “Halfway There,” has received a put pilot commitment from CBS....
“Clueless” Remake in the Works from Paramount
Cher Horowitz is about to make her off-Broadway debut and now the iconic virgin that can’t drive may be heading back to multiplexes. A “Clueless” remake is in early development at...
Immigrant Women Taking Center Stage: Crowdfunding Picks
Because of the Trump administration, immigrants have become particularly vulnerable in recent years. Accordingly, art has been forced to respond to this crisis quickly and effectively. Seeing...
Marianna Palka’s Motherhood Comedy “Egg” Acquired by Gravitas Ventures
“Egg” is set to hatch in theaters come the new year. Gravitas Ventures acquired North American rights to Marianna Palka’s dark comedy about motherhood and is planning a January 18...
Liz Brixius & Debra Martin Chase Have a Drama About LAPD Women Officers in Development at NBC
“Nurse Jackie” co-creator Liz Brixius and “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” producer Debra Martin Chase are teaming up to tell a story about BFFs with badges. The pair have...
Roxanne Benjamin to Pen “Night of the Comet” Remake for Orion
Roxanne Benjamin is bringing zombie horror-comedy “Night of the Comet” back to life. The “XX” and “Southbound” director is penning a reimagining of the cult...
Teaser Watch: The Queen Must Contend with Revolution in “Victoria” Season 3
Season 3 of “Victoria” will see the young monarch facing turmoil across her country and private life. A new teaser for Daisy Goodwin’s ITV/PBS series has dropped, and hints that...
Queer Women in Love: October’s VOD and Web Series Picks
Women are underrepresented in the media — that’s no secret. It should also come as no surprise that queer women are among the most marginalized groups on-screen. To add insult to injury,...
Carol Morley’s Patricia Clarkson-Starrer “Out of Blue” Goes to IFC Films
Still reeling from Patricia Clarkson’s disturbing turn in “Sharp Objects”? The Oscar-nominated actress’ latest feature is another dark story involving murder and family...
LFF 2018: Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy” Takes Top Prize, Tricia Tuttle Named Head of BFI Fests
The last night of the 2018 BFI London Film Festival (LFF) was an exciting one for women. Not only did Sudabeh Mortezai’s sex trafficking drama “Joy” win Best Film, it was...
“Grown-ish” Exec Producer Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry Signs Overall Deal with ABC
We’re going to be seeing more from Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry. As Deadline reports, the “Grown-ish” executive producer has inked an overall deal with ABC Studios. The pact will see...
Weekly Update for October 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Directed by Marielle Heller; Written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Opens in NY and LA) Rightly renowned for her outrageous physical...
Female-Led “Picture of Dorian Gray” Series Being Developed at The CW
An Oscar Wilde adaptation is in the works at The CW. The teen-centric network is developing a female-led series inspired by “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Variety reports. Hailing from...
Gillian Flynn and Marti Noxon to Be Awarded PEN America Teleplay Prize for “Sharp Objects”
Can’t get the ending of “Sharp Objects” out of your mind? Neither can PEN America, apparently. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the women behind the HBO miniseries’ story,...
“Eighth Grade’s” Elsie Fisher Signs on to Musical “The Shaggs”
Elsie Fisher isn’t done making you cringe yet. After breaking out in the delightful and, at times, painfully awkward coming-of-age pic “Eighth Grade,” Fisher has booked a staring...
Writer to Watch: “Speechless” and “Friends from College” Scribe Broti Gupta
Broti Gupta’s résumé will make you jealous (especially if you’re an aspiring writer). Before penning episodes of Netflix comedy “Friends from College” and inclusive family...
Heather Graham to Topline ABC Adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s “The Hypnotist’s Love Story”
Yet another novel from “Big Little Lies” author Liane Moriarty could be making its way to the screen. Following a “competitive situation,” ABC secured rights to an adaptation...
Melissa Miller Costanzo’s “All These Small Moments” Lands at Orion Classics
Melissa Miller Costanzo’s feature directorial debut has secured distribution. Orion Classics scooped up North American and Latin American rights to Jemima Kirke-starrer “All These Small...
Kelly Fremon Craig to Direct Adaptation of Judy Blume Classic “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
An “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” movie is finally on the way. In the almost 50 years since the iconic young adult novel was first published, author Judy Blume has famously...
Sarah Chalke to Topline ABC Dramedy Based on Her Family
Best known for her role as Dr. Elliot Reid on “Scrubs,” Sarah Chalke is re-teaming with the creator of the medical comedy for a new project. Bill Lawrence is among the exec producers on...
Annie Weisman’s Remake of Australian Drama “Sisters” Snags Put Pilot Commitment at Fox
Get ready to discover even more “Sisters.” An American remake of the Australian family drama about three half sisters is in the works, Deadline reports. Written by Annie Weisman, the...
Keira Knightley and Philippa Lowthorpe Bringing the Story of the 1970 Miss World Pageant to the Big Screen
Keira Knightley can currently be seen playing a trailblazing author in “Colette,” and now the two-time Oscar nominee has signed on to topline another feminist project. She’ll star...
Diablo Cody and Liz Astrof Working on “Alice” Reboot for Fox
“Alice” may be returning to TV. Oscar-winning “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody and “2 Broke Girls” writer and exec producer Liz Astrof are working on a reboot of...
Gina Welch Developing TV Adaptation of Carmen Maria Machado Story Collection for FX
Carmen Maria Machado’s stories of haunted prom dresses, Faustian weight-loss surgeries, and a “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” populated by “doppelgängers, ghosts, and...
Melora Walters’ “Waterlily Jaguar” to Open DTLA Fest, Feature Lineup Is 68% Women-Directed
The 10th Annual DTLA Film Festival promises to be a memorable one for women filmmakers. A press release has announced that the fest will screen 30 features, 68 percent of which are from women...
Comedy About Undocumented Immigrants from Sara Saedi in the Works at ABC, Reese Witherspoon to EP
Reese Witherspoon is aiming to take Sara Saedi’s memoir about growing up in a family of undocumented immigrants to the small screen. ABC has handed out a script order to...
Bruna Papandrea Giving Holly Ringland’s “Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” the TV Treatment
Another day, another TV project from Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories. Last week we reported the company would be adapting Signe Pike’s “The Lost Queen” for the small screen, and now Made...
Weekly Update for October 12: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Kindergarten Teacher – Written and Directed by Sara Colangelo (Also Available on Netflix) Unfulfilled with her work in the classroom and her home life with...
A Family Affair: Crowdfunding Picks
It goes without saying that, for so many people, families are fulfilling and of the utmost importance. But as in any interpersonal relationship, navigating a family dynamic can be complicated. This...
Roseanne Liang Is Directing a Feature Version of Her Short “Do No Harm”
Roseanne Liang is turning her 2017 Sundance short “Do No Harm” into a feature. The Chinese-New Zealand filmmaker will direct the pic and Justine Gillmer (“The 100”) will pen...
Trailer Watch: A Fling Goes Off the Rails in Julia Davis’ HBO Comedy “Sally4Ever”
A trailer has dropped for Julia Davis’ new HBO show. The creator and star of the UK’s “Camping” — which inspired the U.S. version of the show starring Jennifer Garner...